The Hegemony Games
The Hunger Games creates a world of inequalities between race, gender, and socio-economic status; contributing to an overall cultural hegemony.
An image stating the definition of cultural hegemony, as well as showing a visual interpretation of its meaning.1
Types of Hegemonies:
Jacob M. Appel once said "The most dangerous ideas are not ones that challenge the status quo [but] are those so embedded in the status quo, so wrapped in the cloud of inevitability, that we forget they are ideas at all."2 This quote points out that much of what creates a cultural hegemony has been indoctrinated into society via certain ideologies.We can see this in the Hunger Games novels, with most obviously the annual gladiator-style games, but also, more subtly, the forced feminization of Katniss to appeal to sponsors, and the Capitol's intense consumerism compared to the Districts' providing for them.
Gender:
The Hunger Games takes place in a patriarchal society. This is emphasized first by the leadership of male President Snow. Although gender stereotypes seem to have broken down in the Capitol with more feminine looks (make-up etc.) accepted for men, there is still immense pressure on how females are expected to act. Effie Trinket is a prime example of this. She displays "emphasized femininity," meaning the way in which she acts and dresses is conforming to the desires of men- specifically the desires of the patriarchal Capitol in this scenario.3 Further, throughout the games Katniss is forced to perform this femininity to appeal to the Capitol and sponsors in order to survive. To add insult to this injury, the people creating her feminized side are all male figures in her life: Peeta, by declaring his love for her; Cinna, by creating her 'Girl on Fire' identity, and later into the Mockinjay; and Haymitch, as the driving force attempting to make her desirable for something other than she is.4
The costumes that created Katniss' identity as 'The Girl on Fire.'5
Katniss' wedding dress that turned into a mockingjay, cementing her new image as the face of the revolution.6
Socio-economic:
The socio-economic differences are quite obvious between each District as they become closer to the Capitol. This is heavily reflected in the actual games. The richer districts ("Career Tributes") from alliances before taking out the poorer- and weaker- tributes from the other districts. Further, Career Tributes are able to receive more sponsorship from their home, ensuring greater chances of survival. Quite honestly, the Hunger Games are a clever way to not only remind the districts of the Capitol's complete control, but also as a way to prevent the districts from uniting against their true enemy and stay fighting each other.
The location of each District becomes important when understanding the hegemony present in Panem. While there is an overall hegemony of the Capitol over all Districts, there is also hegemony of the Districts closest to the Capitol versus the ones furthest away. Districts become their industry in the eyes of the Capitol, and to each other. This plays directly into one of the Capitols methods for maintaining control: creating tension between Districts, rather than allowing them to focus their dissatisfaction on the Capitol.
Ideologies that create this:
The Capitol shows ideologies of late stage capitalism, shaping most of the hegemonies present within the series. The ruling class exercises control of the districts not only by gender norms and location, but also financial control and resource availability. This aspect of the novel reflects certain ideological theories, such as Marx and Engels, in which governments "abuse the labor force and production systems, resulting in class struggles that cause jealousy and tension between the classes instead of discontent aimed at the government."7
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